Gopher Football’s projected offensive depth chart for 2026

Nov 29, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) throws the ball against the Wisconsin Badgers during the first half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Basketball is over. Hockey is over. And the football team’s spring session of practices and the spring game are also over. We can start to look way off into the future toward the 2026 football season. We have to wade through the wasteland of non-revenue college sports between now and August, but today we look at a very early guess at the Gopher offense’s depth chart.

This year’s roster is returning a lot and ranks 7th nationally in returning production. With a familiar roster plus a few key transfer additions, this team is poised to take a step or two forward after a solid 2025 season. We begin with the offense.

OFFENSE

As stated, a lot of production returns. But also, the Gopher offense ranked 94th nationally in SP+, 12th in the Big Ten. So if there are returning starters, they will need to improve.

Quarterback

Starter – Drake Lindsey
Depth – Max Shikenjanski, Michael Merdinger (Liberty transfer), Dylan Wittke
Freshmen – Owen Lansu, Brady Palmer

The most important position on the field is set in stone for Minnesota. Assuming health, Drake Lindsey is going to lead the Gopher offense. Projecting the starter is easy. What happens if someone else needs to play? That’s a little more murky.

Shikenjanski and Wittke both came off the bench to play a little bit in the blowout win over Northwestern State. I think it was presumed that Shikenjanski would have been the first to come off the bench if Lindsey had been injured, but we don’t know. Michael Merdinger should also be in the mix as the primary backup, but the hope is that we never have to find out.

Lansu and Palmer come into the program as true freshmen and are likely not going to make an impact in 2026. In the spring game Lansu looked very good, connecting on 5/7 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. He was impressive for a kid who should have been attending his senior prom. Palmer looked more like a high school senior as he struggled with three interceptions. It is imperative to remember that a spring game does not define a career for either of these freshmen.

Running Back

Starter – Darius Taylor
Depth – AJ Turner, TJ Thomas (Elon transfer), Xavier Ford, Grant Washington, Jaron Thomas (Purdue transfer)
Freshmen – Zeke Bates, Ryan Estrada, Niko Castillo

Once again, identifying the starter is the easy part. Darius Taylor is back for his senior season, looking to stay healthy and dominate the Big Ten. Last season was his worst in terms of production, finishing with 670 yards rushing and just four touchdowns. But, as mentioned, the offense was not elite last year. Taylor is poised for a bounce-back year. With a good year, he could move up to as high as 6th on the Gophers’ all-time leading rusher list.

And as we all know, you need two or three quality backs behind the workhouse.

AJ Turner was supposed to be the primary backup but missed most of the season to an injury. The Marshall transfer is back, should be healthy and ready to be a second back with big-play ability.

Up next is likely TJ Thomas, a junior transfer from Elon. He is a smaller back who will be a factor in the passing game as well as possibly returning kicks and punts.

And the rest of the room is rather inexperienced. Xavier Ford and Grant Washington are redshirt freshmen who spent last year as part of the program. They will be joined by another redshirt freshman, Jaron Thomas, who spent last year redshirting at Purdue. And then Zeke Bates is a true freshman who is an early enrollee hoping to make an impact early in his career.

Wide Receiver

Starters – Javon Tracy, Jalen Smith
Depth – Noah Jennings (Cincinnati transfer), Perry Thompson (Auburn transfer), Zion Steptoe (Tulsa transfer), Donielle Hayes, Bradley Martino
Freshmen – Hayden Moore, Rico Blassingame, Josiah Dosier, Braiden Stevens

A mix of familiar and new faces for the wide receiver group this spring. Tracy and Smith return as two of last year’s top receivers. They combined for 65 receptions, 873 yards and 10 touchdowns, which was 26% of the team’s receptions, 35% of the receiving yards and 52% of the team’s receiving touchdowns. The loss of the team’s leading receiver Le’Meke Brockington, is significant, but there is some returning production. Do not be surprised to see Smith have a breakout season as a redshirt sophomore. If he can show better consistency catching the ball and with an added year of experience, he may turn into something special.

To go along with Tracy and Smith, the staff brought in a few transfers and two of them stood out in the spring game. Noah Jennings had the biggest impact in the spring game, and he looked like he is going to be a significant contributor in the regular season. His ability to separate and make plays was evident. And Perry Thompson showed his size and speed combination on his 32-yard touchdown reception.

Last year the 4th most receptions by a receiver on this roster was five. Five receptions for Malachi Coleman. So, beyond the four receivers I listed above, there may not be a lot of production from the rest. Donielle Hayes and Bradley Martino were on the roster last season and had zero receptions each. Martino was a freshman, redshirting last year. And Hayes did not play.

The other name to watch is true freshman Hayden Moore. He has been turning heads in spring practice and may be making an early impact.

Tight End

Starters – Pierce Walsh, Julian Johnson
Depth – Jacob Simpson, Kaden Helms (Oklahoma transfer), Sam Peters
Freshmen – Roman Voss, Gabe Weaver, George Rohl

Typically, this position is not one that shows up in the Gopher passing game, but has been critical in the ground game. That may be changing in the near future as the staff has a number of impressive recruits coming this fall and fall of 2027. But I would not expect an immediate impact.

The question is, who will replace Jameson Geers in the offense? And the answer is that it’ll be some combination of Julian Johnson, Kaden Helms or Pierce Walsh.

Walsh played all 13 games last season and had two receptions. Johnson played in just two games last year, now entering his third season in the program And Kaden Helms is an Oklahoma transfer who played in 10 games for the Sooners a year ago.

Sam Peters is in his fourth season with the program and could find his way onto the field more. And Jacob Simpson played in all 13 games last year as a redshirt freshman, mostly on special teams.

The freshmen are headlined by Roman Voss, a highly recruited and dynamic athlete. He will make an impact on this Gopher offense, but it likely won’t be in 2026.

Offensive Tackle

Starters – Nathan Roy, Bennett Warren
Depth – Daniel Shipp, Kaveon Lee
Freshmen – Andrew Trout, Gavin Meier, Aaron Thomas

It seems clear that the starting tackles are going to be Nathan Roy and Bennet Warren. Roy started 12 games at LT last season as a redshirt freshman. There were some growing pains but the expectation is that he is going to take a leap forward as a sophomore and become a great tackle.

The other side of the line was not a strength last season and the staff shored that up with perhaps their most important transfer, Bennett Warren, a transfer from Tennessee. Warren redshirted in 2024 and played in 13 games as a redshirt freshman last year for the Vols. Coming out of high school, he was a top-100 player and ranked as the 11th-best tackle in the country. He is also expected to take a step in his development and give Drake Lindsay great protection.

Behind those two is a lot of inexperience. DJ Shipp and Kaveon Lee, both saw significant action in the spring game at LT and RT, respectively. Both are redshirt freshmen.

And then the group of incoming freshmen are very talented. This group gives me great comfort for the future of the Gopher OL, but a redshirt year for Trout, Meier and Thoms is very likely.

Interior Offensive Line

Starters – Greg Johnson, Jerome Williams, Ashton Beers (Center)
Depth – Jaden Ball, Tony Nelson, Brett Carroll, Handy (Center)
Freshmen – Lucas Tielsch, Beckett Schreiber

Greg Johnson did not play in the spring game, but the senior has started 38 games in his first three seasons and will be the starter at LG this season. He and starting center Ashton Beers are the two seniors along the line and are locks to start. Beers has started 22 games over the last two seasons.

Right guard is where it gets more interesting, but the Gopher staff has more options. Jerome Williams, Jaden Ball, Tony Nelson and Brett Carroll were the four starters at one of the guard spots in the spring game.

Williams and Nelson are the eldest of the group. Williams is entering his fourth season with the program. He redshirted his freshman season, was injured for his second season, and was available last year. He is my pick to start at RG. Nelson is versatile and could play any of the non-center spots along the line, but has the most experience at guard. He is a senior and while it is possible that he gets the start on September 3rd, I suspect he’s the first guy on the field if any shuffling of the line is required.

Ball and Carroll are also going to be in the mix. Both are redshirt sophomores who saw limited action in 2025.

At center, Beers is the starter, but there remains a question about who would slide into that spot if an injury occurs. Mark Handy started at center in the spring game, but that does not mean the redshirt freshman automatically starts should there be a need. Brett Carroll or Greg Johnson are the more likely options and then everybody along the interior of the line shuffles.

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There are two things I like about this offense.

First, they return a lot of production at key positions. The quarterback, the left tackle, the running back, and two receivers.

Secondly, they really don’t have any major holes. Not that this side of the ball is stacked with all-conference caliber players, but they plugged holes with transfers and there is expected improvement from guys developing. The offense isn’t perfect, but there are not any obvious deficiences from a talent perspective.

How Greg Harbaugh Jr brings it all together and devices his game plans? That is a whole other question. But this should be a talented group.